Woman walks in desert with child in her arms.
The SDC is committed to preserving soil fertility, forest and water resources in countries affected by desertification. ©CGIAR

Desertification and soil erosion cause the land to lose vital elements such as nutrients and minerals. As a result, people lose their means of agricultural production, their source of food and income, and even their entire livelihoods. In a bid to prevent this, the SDC works to promote sustainable land, forest and water management in affected areas.

The SDC's focus

The SDC supports the preservation of soil fertility and water resources through sustainable agriculture and forest management, primarily in arid regions such as the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and Central Asia. It imparts knowledge, supports research projects and provides assistance with institutional reforms. The SDC's activities to combat desertification and soil erosion include the following:

Protecting pasture land

In Mongolia, one of the countries most affected by desertification, the SDC has been working to protect pasture land since 2004. It promotes pasture user groups (PUGs), groups of herders that jointly manage grazing lands. The local government grants PUGs the rights to use the land. These groups draw up pasture management plans and use the meadows in rotation. PUGs are independent bodies increasingly recognised and supported by local governments. To date, 960 PUGs and 67 marketing cooperatives have been supported by the Green Gold project, involving more than 53,000 herder households (30% of all herder households in the country).

Sustainable forestry

Charcoal is an important fuel in many developing countries. Its production requires large quantities of wood, which can lead to deforestation, soil erosion and, ultimately, desertification. Sustainable forest management and the energy-efficient production of charcoal are measures that can be introduced to prevent desertification.

In Tanzania, the SDC supports a project called Transforming Tanzania's Charcoal Sector, in which residents of eight villages in the district of Kilosa draw up plans to manage the forest and carry them out on a community basis. At the same time, they are taught how to produce charcoal sustainably. As well as protecting the forest and wood resources, this also improves the quality of the charcoal, leading to higher incomes for charcoal producers.

Convention to Combat Desertification

Switzerland, represented by the SDC, has been actively involved in the design and implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The primary objective of the Convention is to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought, particularly in Africa, through effective action at all levels.

WOCAT – Sharing information on sustainable land management

The SDC supports the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT), a global network led by the University of Bern's Centre for Development and Environment. Partners collect, evaluate and document information about sustainable land management (SLM) technologies and approaches, in particular in areas severely affected by desertification and drought. The data is used to facilitate decision-making on land use and to combat erosion, among other purposes.

Since early 2014, WOCAT has been recognised by the UNCCD as the global platform for documenting SLM best practices. WOCAT supports the 197 signatory countries in sharing their land management practices on the platform so that they can learn from each other quickly and easily. The SDC, for example, shares successful practices and valuable know-how on combating desertification, in a quick and cost-effective way.

Background

During desertification, the natural potential of the land deteriorates, meaning that it loses productivity, biological diversity and its ability to regenerate. The UNCCD thus defines desertification as 'land degradation'. The climatic and human factors of overgrazing, overexploitation, deforestation and unsustainable or environmentally-damaging irrigation systems contribute to desertification.

Approximately one third of the world's agricultural land has degraded. Every year, 12 million hectares are lost to desertification, an area three times the size of Switzerland. 2.7 billion people suffer from the ecological, economic and social consequences of desertification and soil erosion. Desertification is often linked to the poverty of the people living in the affected areas. In order to survive, the only option they have is to overexploit the land. Other contributing factors to overexploitation are international market imperatives and a lack of awareness about natural resources in some regions.

Switzerland ratified the UNCCD in 1996. It is the only legally binding document linking environment and development to sustainable land management. The 197 parties to the Convention work to improve the living conditions for people in drylands, to maintain and restore land and soil productivity, and to mitigate the effects of drought.

The UNCCD recommends a bottom-up approach to achieve its objectives, encouraging the participation of local people in combating desertification. The two other UN conventions agreed at the 1992 Earth Summit – the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – are also crucial to the fight against desertification.

Documents

Current projects

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Backstopping support for SDC’s Cluster Green thematic Knowledge Networks A+FS, CDE and RésEAU

01.01.2025 - 31.12.2028

As a globally active knowledge-based organisation, SDC is critically dependent on effective and efficient knowledge management. SDC’s thematic networks sit at the heart of this endeavour, rendering an essential service across the organisation and its partners by connecting network members, collecting and processing information, and retaining and distributing knowledge. State-of-the art backstopping services are essential to this activity, as is close cooperation between SDC’s thematic networks.


Appui au renforcement des capacités de résilience des populations vulnérables du Batha – REPAR

16.09.2024 - 15.09.2027

L’intervention vise à améliorer la sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle des populations vulnérables de la province du Batha de manière holistique, à travers une approche prenant en compte à la fois les activités de développement et humanitaire. Le projet appuie la mise en place d’un mécanisme local durable de prévention et de gestion des crises alimentaires, l’augmentation des revenus des ménages vulnérables et l’assistance alimentaire pendant les périodes de soudure.


Food security and livelihood assistance to conflict-affected populations in Northeast Nigeria

15.09.2024 - 31.08.2027

Food insecurity and malnutrition remain prevalent across Northeast Nigeria, driven by insecurity leading to displacement and lack of access to farmland. This is further compounded since 2023 by soaring inflation. The situation is affecting up to 4.8 million food insecure people in 2024. SDC’s continued funding to FAO seeks to further strengthen the resilience of crisis-affected people by sustainably improving their food production and productivity with a particular focus on women.


Andean Regional Initiative on Adaptation to Climate Change (ARIACC)

01.09.2024 - 31.08.2027

ARIACC aims to increase the resilience of Andean Family Agriculture to climate change by improving the implementation of relevant policies, building capacity, leveraging investments, scaling innovative practices and promoting regional and global knowledge exchange. Close multisectoral collaboration will ensure the sustainability and scaling of the initiative. The project builds on longstanding SDC experience in the region and consolidates successful achievements of Phase 1 while sharing them globally.


Tajikistan UNDRR - Strengthening Resilience to Disasters and Climate Change in Tajikistan (SRDCT)

01.09.2024 - 28.02.2026

Tajikistan is highly vulnerable to natural hazards and climate impacts, thus strengthening resilience needed as fundament for sustainable development. The intervention will contribute to (i) sustainable and effective mechanisms and instruments to improve risk governance through the national DRR platform,  (ii) improved risk knowledge through robust loss data collection and recording, and (iii) preparedness measures through support to multi-hazard Early Warning Systems and risk information.   


Gender Equality in Food Systems

01.08.2024 - 31.12.2027

Gender-based discrimination, or the denial of women’s rights, is one of the major causes of poverty and food insecurity. The support from SDC contributes to women’s economic empowerment and the sustainable and transformative change in their livelihoods. FAO, IFAD, WFP and UN Women together tackle the barriers to gender equality at global, regional and national levels, including through the uptake of the CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls Empowerment.


Assistance multisectorielle pour les populations affectées par les déplacements, Beni & Oicha, Nord Kivu

22.07.2024 - 31.07.2026

Les conflits armés à l’est de la RDC entrainent des déplacements récurrents de population, des violences sur les civils, la perte de moyens d’existence ainsi que des besoins humanitaires importants. Dans la continuité des deux phases antérieures, cette intervention vise à renforcer la résilience des populations affectées par les conflits par une intervention en sécurité alimentaire, moyens de subsistance et eau, hygiène et assainissement, dans 4 zones de santé du territoire de Beni, au Nord Kivu.


Responsible Business Fund Plus (RBF+)

01.07.2024 - 30.06.2028

Myanmar’s post-coup conflict escalation and economic turmoil has led to financial and economic instability and destabilised the agrifood industry. Also, extreme weather and climate change further impact farmers and agricultural processors. The Responsible Business Fund Plus project aims to support agrifood businesses while reducing their environmental impact and thus deepening Switzerland's commitment to private sector engagement and an inclusive green economy.


Futuro Microbank

15.05.2024 - 31.12.2027

The microfinance institution Futuro Mcb, SA currently provides financial services (loans, savings, insurance) to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) mainly in and around Nampula city. Switzerland will continue to support Futuro with a grant for technical assistance that will help the bank to expand its impact by providing financial services to more low-income entrepreneurs in more regions in Northern Mozambique, thus allowing them to enhance their income and create more jobs.


Scaling Up Youth Employment in Agriculture Initiative

01.05.2024 - 30.04.2028

In Zambia and Zimbabwe, due to a mismatch between the skills they have and those in demand, youth cannot access or create economic opportunities and overlook those available. The project builds skills and matches youth with firms, markets and finance to create more and better (self)-employment in agri-food, renewable energy and emerging sectors, contributing to Swiss priorities on human and economic development and climate change. This is a contribution implemented by SNV.


Up-Scaling ARC's Risk Transfer System

01.05.2024 - 06.07.2026

Switzerland is playing a leading role in the development of innovative financial instruments to mitigate climate risks. This project aims to support the African Union's African Risk Capacity, an early warning and risk transfer system, in protecting 175’000 smallholder rice farmers in Côte d'Ivoire as a pilot project against drought, excessive rainfall and other climate-related challenges, and to strengthen their resilience and sustainability in the face of environmental uncertainties.


UNHAS - Accès aux bénéficiaires en Afrique de l’Ouest

01.03.2024 - 31.12.2027

Dans un contexte d’insécurité alimentaire croissante et d’accès humanitaire précaire au Sahel, le service aérien humanitaire des Nations Unies (UNHAS) permet d’accéder aux populations dans le besoin grâce à un transport sûr et rapide de personnes et de biens. La contribution à UNHAS permettra d’atteindre les populations vulnérables dans les régions reculées ou enclavées et d’assurer le suivi des programmes suisses.

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